Countywide : Superior Court Officials Request Six More Judges

Citing heavy increases in new criminal and civil cases, court officials on Thursday requested funding for six more Superior Court judgeships from the Board of Supervisors.

The $770,000 request is “very important for the citizens of Orange County in order to make courtrooms available,” said Everett W. Dickey, presiding judge of the Superior Court.

“We’re concerned about continuing to be able to move our cases expeditiously,” Dickey said.

The number of new serious criminal cases filed has jumped 36% in the last two years, and over the same period new personal injury cases have increased 32%, according to court Executive Officer Alan Slater. A total of 51 judges and eight commissioners hear those cases.

As of July 1, three additional judgeships will have been created, the only increase in the last two years, Slater said.

Under the request, $570,378 would fund six judgeships, and an additional $191,945 would pay for a new court commissioner to be assigned to the probate division headed by Judge Henry T. Moore Jr.

A recent analysis by the Judicial Council of California, which assessed recent growth in court business, recommended that nine additional judges be created for the county, Slater said. The council is the chief administrative and policy-setting group for the state court system.

Slater said an additional $200,000 would be needed to pay for physical alterations in the courthouse to accommodate the new judges.

The Legislature last year passed a bill shifting most costs of superior courts to the state. A separate measure appropriating money to pay for the shift is pending.

Traditionally, counties have borne most of the cost of the local court system, although only the Legislature has the authority to create additional judgeships. If supervisors endorse Dickey’s proposal at their Tuesday meeting, then the Legislature will be asked to approve the expansion.

The state now pays about 90% of a Superior Court judge’s salary--$77,129 per year--and pension benefits.

Slater said he was “optimistic” that supervisors will approve the request. Dickey, citing the board action that created additional court commissioners in 1984, said the board has traditionally been responsive to court needs despite the complications of the dual-funding arrangement with the state.